The Secrets You Keep
by Lolita Lolly Lips
Summary: Feliciano and Ludwig may have just met, but they are very quickly becoming the best of friends. However, Ludwig can't help but feel as though there's something Feliciano is keeping from him. No matter where he is, the young Italian seems to get special treatment. He also seems to hate it. Will Ludwig be able to figure it all out in time?
1. First Meeting

If he had skipped breakfast this morning, he would have only been ten minutes late.

If he hadn't had argued with his brother about even coming to school in the first place, he'd only be five minutes late.

If he had let Antonio drive him, he wouldn't be late at all.

However, Feliciano hadn't skipped breakfast. He'd argued with his brother and stormed out of the house before Antonio could pick up his keys.

And now here he was, rushing through the halls, desperately trying to get to his first class before they started any actual work. Luckily, his first class was physics, and the teacher was infamous for babbling on about nothing for at least twenty minutes before he actually started the lesson.

He had, however, missed sign in and had to get a late mark from the office.

He wished he'd stayed in bed that morning. His chest was aching and he could barely breathe, but still. He had a class to get to.

Checking the time on his phone, he sped up, noticing that he was now almost twenty minutes late for class.

He tucked his phone back into his pocket as he rounded a corner, only to bump into something and send himself flying backwards, landing on his back.

He hissed, pulling himself into a sitting position, tears gathering in his eyes.

"A-Are you alright?" he heard a worried voice ask.

He looked up to see a student he'd never met before (which was strange, since he knew almost everyone in this school). The 'new' student had clear, blue eyes which were now widened with concern. His blond hair was neatly combed back and kept out of the way. He wasn't wearing the Sixth Form uniform, which meant he was obviously younger than seventeen. Feliciano assumed he was either in his year or the year above him, which made it even stranger that he hadn't seen him before.

"I'm fine." he answered, wincing slightly as he pulled himself up off the floor.

The other regarded him for a moment, before giving a curt nod. "Oh, um..." he pulled a small book from his school bag. Feliciano recognised it to be the school's organiser. "C-Could you please tell me where Mr. Martin's physics class is?" he asked.

Feliciano gave a bright smile. "Si," he practically sang. "I'm going there myself. Follow me." he grabbed the other by the wrist, pulling him along. "My name is Feliciano, by the way."

"O-Oh, mine is Ludwig." replied the new student.

"Ludwig~" Feliciano sang, literally. He continued to drag the new student, Ludwig through the halls until the reached the physics class on the bottom floor of the science department.

All eyes were on them as soon as they burst through the door.

Ludwig was sure they'd get into trouble. He may get off lightly, since he is new, after all. However, Feliciano would probably get yelled at.

"I'm so sorry." Feliciano apologised before the teacher said anything.

Mr. Martin was a balding, overweight man who looked to be in his mid to late forties. He wore tiny wired glasses on his forehead and had three pens in the breast pocket of his shirt. He didn't look to be a kind man, but Ludwig was always told to never judge a book by it's cover.

"Don't worry about it, Feliciano." Mr. Martin scratched his head with the end of his pen. "Just take your seat. Kiku," he turned to a short Asian boy—from the name, Ludwig would have guessed Japanese. "Could you please explain the work to Feliciano and help him catch up?"

The boy nodded, sending a small smile over to Feliciano. He had jet black hair which, judging by how glossy it seemed, was obviously well looked after. His eyes were dark brown and didn't portray much emotion, despite the smile on his face.

Feliciano went and sat next to Kiku, smiling widely as he greeted his friend with a hug.

Kiku looked a little uncomfortable, but allowed the Italian to hug him anyway.

"I take it you're Ludwig Beilschmidt, right?"

Ludwig turned his attention to Mr. Martin. "Yes, sir." he replied.

The teacher gave him a stern look. "Is there a particular reason that you are," he trailed off, looking at his watch. "almost half an hour late to my lesson?"

"It's my first day." Ludwig replied. "I got lost. Feliciano showed me the way."

Mr. Martin gave him a doubtful look, but nodded. "Okay. I'll let you off. But next time you're this late, I will not let you into this classroom, understood?"

Ludwig nodded. Although, he couldn't help but wonder why the teacher thought nothing of Feliciano turning up so late.

"You can sit on the end bench next to Feliciano for now, until I arrange the new seating plan."

At those words, a red-headed girl in the front row turned to the boy beside her and started giggling. "Oh, Ceri, watch out." she whispered. "There's a _new _seating plan."

The boy beside her joined her giggling.

"Kassia. Ceri. Get on with the work, please." chided Mr. Martin.

The two started writing again, still quietly snickering to one another.

Ludwig was handed a new workbook from Mr. Martin and sent to sit with Feliciano, being told that Kiku would explain what to do.

"Ludwig~" Once again, Feliciano sang the new student's name.

Kiku looked up, giving the new student a polite smile. "Hello," he greeted. "I am Kiku."

Ludwig smiled back. "I'm Ludwig." He set his bag down, seating himself in the empty chair beside Feliciano. He wrote his name on the front of his book and opened it to the first page, listening intently as Kiku explained today's task.

* * *

When the bell rang for the end of lesson, Feliciano insisted that Ludwig spend his break with him and Kiku.

Ludwig accepted, and was now following after his classmates. They lead him to what they called their 'usual spot'. It was a small bench on a small patch of grass behind the R.E. Department (which was a two-classroom port-a-cabin).

The bench was just about big enough for the three of them. They weren't squashed together, but they were still a little too close for Kiku's comfort.

"Can I see your time-table?" asked Feliciano, holding his hand out.

Ludwig blinked, dipping his hand into his bag to retrieve the slip of paper with his schedule printed on. He unfolded it before handing it to the Italian.

Feliciano thanked him, reading over his classes and teachers. He was delighted to find that they had a lot of classes together.

"What options did you pick, Ludwig?" asked Kiku, reading the schedule over Feliciano's shoulder.

"Engineering, I.T. and world history."

Feliciano gave a dramatic gasp. "I took world history!" he announced.

"Hai, me too." Kiku added.

Ludwig didn't know people were able to smile as brightly as Feliciano was at the moment.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Feliciano asked, dropping Ludwig's time-table into his lap and grabbing both the boys' hands. "We _have _to be the best of friends!"

Kiku, having long since grown used to such antics from the Italian, eased his hand out of Feliciano's grasp. He picked up Ludwig's time-table and continued reading. "Oh, dear..."

"What?"

With a sigh, Kiku handed Ludwig's schedule back to him. "You have Ms. Samuel for maths."

Ludwig refolded his time-table and tucked it away in his organiser. "Is she bad?"

Kiku nodded. "She doesn't even go easy on Feliciano."

Doesn't go easy on Feliciano? Why should she? Come to think of it, Mr. Martin seemed to be incredibly lenient with the Italian.

Ludwig opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Feliciano, who suddenly jumped to his feet, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder. "I'm going to be late for drama." he said, hurrying away.

"But there's five minutes of break left." Ludwig called after him.

Kiku gave a quiet sigh, knowing he'd crossed a line. "I'm sorry." he muttered, but Feliciano was already too far away to hear him.

With a raised eyebrow, Ludwig turned back to Kiku. "What was that about?" he asked.

"I said something I shouldn't have." Kiku replied.

The two sat in silence until the bell rang. Kiku collected his bags and said goodbye.

"Wait a minute." Ludwig stopped him before he could turn away. "Why should any of the teachers go easy on Feliciano?"

Kiku sighed. "I'm sorry, Ludwig. It really isn't my place to say." he replied, turning and walking away before Ludwig could ask any more awkward questions.

* * *

"Ludwig!"

The German turned at the sound of his name being called, just in time to be tackled into a hug.

"Hello, Feliciano." he greeted, trying to pry the clingy one off him.

Feliciano had certainly brightened up in the past two hours. He grabbed hold of Ludwig's wrist, pulling him over to a table in the corner of the hall. "This is our table." he said.

Kiku was already sat at the table, eating quietly. "Feliciano," he put his chopsticks down. "I'm sorry for—"

"It doesn't matter." Feliciano cut him off, sitting down in his usual seat across from the Japanese boy.

Not knowing what else to do, Ludwig sat next to Feliciano.

"Hey, Ludwig. We have history next lesson!" Feliciano chirped, excitedly, getting his lunch box out of his bag.

Kiku, who had gone back to eating, looked up. "That's right. Maybe we can catch you up on what we've learnt so far."

"Oh, alright then. Thank you."

Over lunch, they discussed the topics they'd covered in world history so far, which didn't really take long, since they weren't that far into the school year.

Kiku explained that they were now looking at World War Two, specifically the Axis Powers.

"Hey, wait a minute." Feliciano cried, louder than necessary. "The Axis was Germany, Italy and Japan, right?"

"Hai."

"Like us!" Feliciano smiled. "We're German, Italian and Japanese. We're like the Axis!"

"You're right." Ludwig smiled.

The three spent a brief moment chuckling at the realisation before the bell for fourth lesson rang and they had to walk to their history class. Luckily, the class was close to the lunch hall, so they didn't have to hurry.

Feliciano and Kiku sat in their usual seats, with Ludwig sitting at the empty desk behind them.

On the board were the words "_**W**__**ORLD HISTORY WITH MISS JENKINS**__**; AXIS vs. ALLIES**_" in bold, red letters. The teacher of this class was leaning against the board with folded arms, a smirk on her face.

"Okay," miss Jenkins flicked her shiny brunette fringe out of her face. "We've done a lot of work on the Axis. Enter: Allies." She pushed herself away from the board, twirling her marker between her fingers. "Who can name a member of the Allies?"

Almost as soon as she'd finished her sentence, a loud, excitable voice yelled "America!"

Miss Jenkins smiled, pulling herself up to sit in her desk. "Very well done, Jones." she said in a slightly patronising tone. "But you didn't need to jump to your feet to answer that."

The class shared a laugh as the slightly blushing student sat back down, only to to slapped upside the head by the student next to him.

The rest of the class went on in a similar manner, until a beeper went off.

"Oh," miss Jenkins turned, pressing a button to stop the beeping. "Feli, it's 1:30, love."

Feliciano nodded, getting to his feet. "Kiku, if I'm not back in time—"

"I'll bring your things to P.E." Kiku said.

With a nod, Feliciano left the room.

Ludwig watched him walk away with a raised eyebrow. Again, something strange had happened.

There was something about Feliciano that didn't sit right. He seemed like a nice enough boy, but he had teachers treating him like royalty, letting him get up and leave in the middle of a class.

Maybe his family was part of the Mafia.

No. Not only was that a negative stereotype, but Feliciano was far too sweet for something like that. Then again, book. Cover.

No, no, no! Ludwig shook that stupid thought from his head instantly. But he would like to know what was going on with the kid.

* * *

He didn't see Feliciano again until twenty minutes into P.E.

He turned up, rubbing his eyes and looking like he just woke up, collected his bag from Kiku, and went to sit on the benches. The P.E. teacher didn't even ask why he wasn't taking part.

For the rest of the lesson, Feliciano just watched the other boys playing football, sketching happily in his art book.

When the final bell rang, signalling the end of school, Feliciano packed his things away and jogged over to Ludwig, who had just emerged from the boys' changing rooms.

"Where do you live, Ludwig?" he asked.

"Genesis Terrace, why?"

Feliciano smiled. "You live close enough for my brother-in-law to give you a ride home." he explained. "Kiku lives in the other direction."

Speaking of Kiku, where was he? Ludwig didn't see him at all in the changing rooms.

"If we have P.E. last, Kiku goes home without changing out of his kit." explained Feliciano and he dragged Ludwig towards the main gates.

A red 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 was parked across the road, a man with dark brown curls sat on the bonnet playing with his phone.

"Antonio!" Feliciano called, pulling Ludwig over to the car.

The man on the bonnet looked up with a bright smile. "Hola, Feli." he greeted, tucking his phone back in his pocket. "Ready to go?"

Feliciano nodded. "Could you give my friend a ride, please? He only lives on Genesis."

Antonio regarded Ludwig with a smile. "Si, of course." he replied. He slid off the bonnet, opening the driver's side door and climbed in. "Let's get going, before Lovi calls."

With his usual, bright smile, Feliciano opened the passenger's door, pushing the seat forward so he could climb into the back. He pulled the passenger's seat back into place and told Ludwig to get in."

Ludwig slid into the passenger's seat, admiring the interior of Antonio's car.

Antonio gave him a look of 'I know, right?' and started the engine, driving away from the school.

"So, how was school today?" asked Antonio after a brief silence.

"It was alright." replied Feliciano, who was now lying down across the backseat.

"Did you ta—"

"Yes!" Feliciano snapped.

Antonio winced. "I'm just looking out for you, Feliciano." he muttered.

A soft sigh was heard. "Well, don't. I'm fine."

Ludwig turned his head to see Feliciano's jacket pulled over his head. He couldn't help but feel a little awkward. You know that feeling when you're with a friend and they're getting told off, so you're left awkwardly stood or sat there, unable to really do anything. That's exactly how he felt.

It didn't take long for them to pull up outside Ludwig's house. All of a sudden, Feliciano's happy-go-lucky attitude reappeared.

The Italian sprung up, coiling his arms around Ludwig's shoulders. "I'll see you tomorrow, si?" he asked.

With a smile, Ludwig prying Feliciano off him for the second time that day. "Ja, I'll see you tomorrow, Feliciano." he said, grabbing his bag and opening the car door. "Thank you for driving me home."

Antonio smiled. "You're perfectly welcome."

Saying one last goodbye, Ludwig climbed out of the car and closed the door, waiting for them to drive off before walking up his front steps.

What a day.

* * *

**End Note:** Have you guys already figured out where this is going?  
Honestly? I have no idea where this idea came from. It just turned up and tapped me in the chest with a spatula (get the reference?). Either way, I hope you guys enjoy it!  
Also, Kassia and Ceri are me and a friend of mine. SHAMELESS SELF-INSERT! The seating plan is an inside joke. Mr. Martin(an actual physics teacher of mine) used to change the seating plan almost every month, and once spent an entire lesson explaining his new seating plan and why he chose those seats for us. Me and Ceri always ended up sitting together, though. Ms. Samuel is a real teacher, too. She was such a b-word.  
Look up the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454, by the way. Seriously guys, what a sweet car!  
Anyway, that's enough from me. I hope you enjoy this new fic and I'll see you for chapter two (not all of the chapters are going to be this long, btw).  
~Lolly xXx


	2. The Red Café

The next morning, Ludwig was just about leave the house to make his way to school when Antonio's car pulled up in front of his house.

Feliciano tumbled out of the backseat, jogging up the short steps to his friend's front door.

The door was pulled open before he could knock.

"Ah, good morning, Ludwig." greeted the Italian, bright smile in place. "Antonio and I were wondering if you'd like a ride to school."

Ludwig returned the smile and nodded. "Okay. Thanks." He grabbed his bag, yelling his goodbye into the house before following Feliciano down the steps.

Despite the fact that it was rather sunny out, Feliciano had a jacket on with the hood pulled up. It was a bit baggy on him, falling to about his knees. Ludwig couldn't help but think he looked a little cute.

By the time Ludwig reached the car, Feliciano was already lying across the backseat, leaving Ludwig to sit in the front again.

"Good morning... Ludwig, right?" Antonio greeted with a smile almost as bright as Feliciano's.

"Ja," Ludwig replied, fastening his seatbelt. "Good morning."

Antonio started his engine, glancing into his rear view mirror. "Feliciano, sit up, please." he said.

Feliciano did as he was told, grumbling quietly to himself in Italian.

The entire journey passed in near-silence. The only noise being the radio, and Antonio reminding Feliciano that it was dangerous to lie across the backseat like that.

It didn't take them long to reach the school. The boys said goodbye to Antonio and went to walk to registration.

"Feli," Antonio leaned out of the window slightly. "If you want to come home, call me and I'll come and pick you up, okay?"

Feliciano sighed, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder. "Si, I know. You tell me every day." he drawled, walking towards the building.

Ludwig said a quick 'thank you' and followed after him. "Your father seems nice."

With a raised eyebrow, Feliciano turned to face him. "My father?" You could practically see his brain piecing it together. He covered his mouth as he began to giggle. "Antonio's not my father." he said, laughing harder. "He's my brother's boyfriend. But they've been together so long that they might as well be married, so I call him my brother-in-law."

"Oh..."

The two walked the rest of the way to their form class without saying a word. Ludwig couldn't help but notice the way people moved out of the way for the small Italian.

Ducking into their form class, Feliciano rushed over to Kiku, who was already sat at his desk, writing in his organiser.

Ludwig awkwardly shuffled into the seat behind the two, next to a blonde girl who was texting, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.

It's not that he was listening, but he kept catching snippets of Feliciano and Kiku's conversation.

"They're just trying to look out for you, Feli."

"Well, I wish they wouldn't. I can look after myself."

"It's only natural for them to worry. They're your family."

"They have more important things to worry about. You know, they won't even let me help out in the café any more."

At that moment, their Form teacher walked in. A tall, slender woman with strait blonde hair that fell to her mid back. Miss Joyce was a no-nonsence kind of woman. She had little tolerance for tomfoolery and expected everything to be done with military precision.

"Good morning everybody. Eyes front. Pens down. Feliks, put your phone away."

The 'girl' beside Ludwig groaned and tucked her (...his?) phone into a neon pink rucksack, before slinging it over the back of the seat.

Miss Joyce tucked herself away behind her desk and booted up the computer. While she waited for the register system to load, the classroom fell into a quiet chatter. "Right, shut up." she called, starting to read out names.

* * *

After registration was over, Ludwig, Feliciano and Kiku trudged over to their maths class, along with the rest of their form class. Everyone seemed to be walking as slowly as possible.

"Is Ms. Samuel really that bad?" asked Ludwig.

The blonde boy who was walking in front of them stopped walking and turned to face them. "Ms. Samuel is the sort of teacher who gives you detention for being too quiet when you answer her questions." he said, turning back around.

Ludwig faltered for a moment. "Oh... Okay then..."

"That's Matthew." explained Kiku. "He's had break time, lunch time and even after school detention because he isn't loud enough when he talks and she can't hear him."

"That's a little harsh."

"Hai. The only reason Feliciano is—"

"_Kiku!_"

Kiku stopped talking instantly. "Sorry."

As soon as they reached the classroom, Ludwig knew they weren't kidding about Ms. Samuel. On the wall was a large poster that read "_**MINDLESS CHATTER WILL **__**NOT**__** BE TOLERATED.**_"

Ms. Samuel herself looked the part of an overly strict headmaster, even though she was just a math teacher. Her short, grey hair was styled in a perm and she wore a black pencil skirt with a white blouse and a black blazer. She had little, round glasses perched on the end of her nose and this expression on her face as if she thought the world revolved around her.

Before Ludwig could sit down, he was called to the front.

"Right, Ludwig, I know you're new and you wouldn't know this, but in my class, we're sat alphabetically." she said. "You're going to be sat next to Ivan."

Ludwig looked around the room, assuming Ivan was the one waving to him. He walked over and sat in the seat on the end of the table, next to Ivan.

On first impressions, Ivan seemed a little odd. Despite the warm temperature, he had a scarf wrapped around his neck. There was a friendly smile on his face, although judging by the pitying looks he was getting, he assumed Ivan was not as open and friendly as he seemed.

A loud bang echoed through the classroom as Ms. Samuel hit the old chalkboard with a ruler. "Let's get on with the lesson."

* * *

"Excuse me."

Ludwig looked up from his computer, finding a short blond boy stood beside him, looking down at him with a small smile. "You're Feliciano's friend, aren't you?"

"Yes." he replied, simply.

The boy pulled out the seat next to Ludwig's and booted up the computer. Which was strange, since they were at least twenty minutes into their IT lesson.

Nothing was said between them while the other boy set up.

Ludwig shook his head and carried on with his work.

Ten minutes of silence passed before the boy beside Ludwig spoke again. "My name is Arthur, by the way." he introduced.

"I'm Lu—"

"Yes, I know who you are." Arthur seemed a little nervous. "T-Tell me, is everything okay with Feliciano? He was fine over lunch, right?"

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "Of course, why wouldn't he be?" he replied.

"But you _are _looking after him?"

"Why does he need looking after? He's sixteen years old."

"O-Oh..." A look of realisation seemed to cover Arthur's face. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." With one last smile, he turned back to his work.

* * *

Ludwig didn't see Feliciano for the rest of the school day. When the bell rang signalling the end of school, he walked home, not even thinking that Feliciano might have been waiting for him.

As soon as he reached his house he headed strait upstairs and shut himself in his room, ignoring whatever it was that his brother was shouting to him.

He would have quite happily stayed up there all day, if it wasn't for Gilbert literally falling into the room announcing that he had a visitor.

Ludwig made his way to the door, only to be greeted by Kiku. "Hello, Ludwig." he smiled. "Feliciano text me asking if I wanted to go to his house for a while. He gave me your address and asked me to invite you, too."

After considering it for all of four seconds, Ludwig grabbed his jacket, calling into the house that he was going out, and followed Kiku out of the house.

Kiku lead the way to a small café called _The Red Café_.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow, but followed him inside.

Behind the counter stood the man Ludwig had mistaken as Feliciano's father, Antonio. His smile seemed to widen when he spotted the two.

"Hola, you pair." he greeted. "I take it you're here to see Feli? Well, you know the way." He pulled the hatch in the counter open to let them through. Kiku thanked him and lead Ludwig up the stairs and to a room with a door that was splattered with all different coloured paints. The word _**FELI**_ was glued on the door in blue, glittery letters made of art foam.

"Even if you don't know your way around, his bedroom is hard to miss." stated Kiku.

Ludwig chuckled.

Before Kiku could knock on the door, they heard Feliciano yell from the inside. "Just come in."

Kiku pushed the door open and walked into the room, followed closely by Ludwig.

Feliciano was lying in his bed with the covers pulled over him and his laptop settled on his lap. "Hey, you guys." he smiled, closing his laptop and stretching over to put it on his bedside table.

"How are you feeling, Feliciano?" asked Kiku, seating himself at the edge of the Italian's bed.

"A lot better, thanks." Feliciano turned to face Ludwig. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you a ride home today."

Ludwig smile faintly. "It's okay. I forgot all about it, if I'm honest."

The three fell into random chatter, switching topics every five minutes, only stopping when a knock sounded on Feliciano's bedroom door and in stepped someone who looked a lot like Feliciano. His hair was darker, eyes a different colour and Ludwig could tell that he was older, but apart from that, they could have been twins. This must be Feliciano's older brother.

"Antonio wants to know if you're staying for dinner." he asked, folding his arms.

"Actually," Feliciano cast a nervous look to his brother. "I wanted to go out for dinner. Maybe to_ Subway_ or something."

Feliciano's brother sighed. "Feli, I—"

"Please, Lovino." Feliciano interrupted, sticking out his bottom lip.

With a quiet groan, Feliciano's brother, Lovino shook his head. "Fine. Attenzione, okay?"

Feliciano smiled. "Si, I will. Grazie, fratello."

* * *

Within thirty minutes, the trio had left _The __R__ed Café_, made their way to the shopping centre in town and bought themselves food. They were now sat on a bench in the park, surveying their surroundings.

"Hey, is that Morgan and Kassia?" asked Feliciano, pointing over to the two girls sat by the fountain, deep in conversation.

Kiku glanced over with a slight smile. "I wonder what they're up to this time."

They didn't have much time to speculate before the two girls nodded and parted ways, skipping off in different directions.

Feliciano giggled "I think they're trying to get Alfred and Arthur together again." he said, watching as the red-headed girl latched onto a certain Brit's arm.

A few meters away, Morgan was doing the same thing to Alfred.

Ludwig, Feliciano and Kiku watched in amusement as the girls dragged the two oblivious boys towards each other, feigning surprise when the bumped into each other.

"Oh, hi Morgan!" Kassia greeted. "I didn't think you'd be here."

Morgan smiled. "I just came here with Alfred." she replied.

"Well, since we're all here, we don't we hang out together?"

Their conversation was so obviously rehearsed, it was almost painful to hear. That is, to everyone except Alfred and Arthur.

Kiku gave a quiet chuckle as the four walked away, out of earshot. "When will they learn, it will never work." he said.

"I don't know." Feliciano smiled, swinging his legs. "I think it will this time."

Morgan and Kassia were known as the Disciples of Elizabeta Hédeváry. Back when Eliza had been at the school, she appointed herself Queen of the Cupid Club. She'd make up all these plots and schemes to set up two people who were, in her opinion, destined to be together. She had never been wrong.

When Elizabeta left the school last year, she appointed Morgan and Kassia the honorary Princesses of the Cupid Club. Their job was to ensure her legacy would live on.

For a long time now, the two had been trying to set up Alfred Jones and Arthur Kirkland. It goes without saying that, thus far, their efforts had all been in vain.

"Those girls are crazy." muttered Ludwig, after listening to that explanation.

"It must be nice though." Feliciano smiled, staring into the distance. "Getting set up with someone by the Cupid Club."

The three sat in silence for a while, not feeling that there was anything left to say.

As usual, it was Feliciano who broke the silence. "Well, I should get home before Lovino gets too worried." he said, tumbling off the bench, almost falling flat on his face. He quickly caught himself and chuckled, coughing quietly.

"Be careful, Feliciano." said Kiku, giving a worried expression as Feliciano coughed.

Feliciano Turned back with a smile. "I'm fine." he said.

Kiku gave an uncertain look, but accepted his reply. "Ludwig," he turned to face the German. "Could you please walk Feliciano home? His brother would have a fit if he walked by himself."

Ludwig nodded. "See you tomorrow, Kiku." He got up and followed after Feliciano.

* * *

**End Note:** I'm sure all you clever clogs have figured it out by now, but next chapter, or maybe the chapter after, Ludwig's finally going to find out.  
By the way... _Ludwig couldn't help but think he looked a little cute._ You wouldn't believe how hard it was to resist adding _He's not gay, though_ to the end of that!  
More self-inserts, but that bit was for Morgan, as you may have guessed xD  
Attenzione - Be careful (Italian)  
~Lolly xXx


	3. PE

The next day was possibly the worst day on Ludwig's timetable.

P.E. first, then literature, then biology, then after lunch, maths. The only upside was World History last.

After leaving form class and making it to the changing rooms he quickly changed out of his uniform and into his P.E. Kit.

When he got onto the astroturf he was unsurprised to see Feliciano sat on the side, sketching away.

Figuring he'd have enough time before the P.E. teacher got there, Ludwig jogged over. "Hey," He took a seat beside the Italian.

"Oh, hi Ludwig!" Feliciano smiled, tucking his pencil into his pocket.

Ludwig smiled back. "Why don't you ever do P.E.?" he asked.

"There's no reason for me to." replied Feliciano with a shrug.

"There's no reason for you not to, either."

Feliciano raised an eyebrow. "Yeah," he muttered. "You're right." He passed his sketchpad to Ludwig and rushed off the astroturf, towards the teachers office located in the changing rooms.

Ludwig blinked. What the hell just happened?

* * *

"Mr. Roberts! Mr. Roberts!" Feliciano knocked on the P.E. teacher's office door, ignoring the quizzical stares of the students who were still changing.

The door opened, revealing Mr. Roberts, a tall man who seemed to have more hair gel than actual hair. "Oh, hello Feliciano." he greeted, seeming genuinely shocked to see the Italian at his door. "How can I help you?"

"I want to start doing P.E."

Mr. Roberts frowned. "I'm sorry, Feliciano. You know why I can't let you participate."

"But I'm totally fine." Feliciano protested.

"Feliciano," Mr. Roberts folded his arms. "I'm sorry." With that, he pushed passed the Italian, making his way towards the astroturf.

* * *

"He looked like he was going to cry."

"Well, what did he expect? His brother would go mental if he started doing P.E."

"But if he wants to take part, then it's his own stupid fault if he ends up back in hospital."

"Yeah, but the school would get in trouble for it. They've got a legally binding agreement after all that fuss with Ms. Samuel."

Ludwig had a feeling he knew who those boys were talking about as they jogged passed him. He seriously needed to ask Feliciano what was going on.

Speak of the devil, Feliciano reappeared next to Ludwig on the bench looking down.

Ludwig opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but was cut off by Mr. Roberts telling him to join the rest of the class. He stood up, giving Feliciano's sketchpad back. "I'll talk to you later."

* * *

The chances to talk to Feliciano were laid on thick since, as Ludwig quickly discovered, he was in the same class as the Italian for every lesson today. However, it was now lunchtime, and still he hadn't brought up those boys' conversation.

Thinking about it, that might have been because he couldn't get a word in edgeways.

Most of the way through literature and biology, Feliciano was talking animatedly about... something. Ludwig couldn't really follow his stories. Even now he was alternating between babbling and eating forkfuls of tuna pasta. Ludwig briefly wondered how he had time to breathe.

Suddenly, Feliciano stopped mid-sentence. "Hey, look!" He pointed over to a table not too far from theirs.

Ludwig and Kiku looked over, finding Arthur sat on Alfred's lap, looking a little embarrassed, but comfortable enough. Two tables back from them sat the Cupid Club, looking more than pleased with themselves.

Feliciano smirked at Kiku. "Told you."

"Indeed, you did." replied Kiku. "I wonder how they did it."

"The Cupid Club never fail."

The trio fell into relative silence, all finishing their lunch before the bell rang.

"We have maths next." stated Ludwig, tucking his lunchbox back into his bag.

Feliciano groaned, lying across the table. "I hate having maths after lunch." he complained.

"And Ms. Samuel hates us being late." Kiku reminded him, getting to his feet. "Let's go."

Luckily, they got to lesson on time.

Ms. Samuel got on with the work immediately, handing out the class' books and writing a few equations on the board for them to solve before seating herself at her desk and taking a book out of the top draw.

At 1:30 on the dot, a beeper went off. Ms. Samuel sighed, pressing the button and looking over to Feliciano, who had looked up from his book. "It's 1:30, Feliciano. The nurse is waiting for you."

Feliciano nodded, getting up and leaving the class without another word.

Ludwig watched him leave. Nurse? So he went to the nurse every day at 1:30. Why? Shaking his head, Ludwig turned back towards his book, continuing to solve the equations on the board.

* * *

Feliciano reappeared, as usual, half way through last lesson. He knocked on the door of Miss Jenkins' class before slipping inside. "I'm sorry I'm late." he said, making his way over to his seat, where Kiku had left his things.

Miss Jenkins smiled at him. "No need to be sorry, love." she said, going back to reading aloud from her textbook.

"Are you alright?" asked Kiku, glancing over with a worried look.

Feliciano smiled. "A little dizzy, but nothing worse than usual."

"If you still feel dizzy when you leave, you should stay there a little longer."

"But I've already missed so much class."

Kiku couldn't seem to find a good enough argument against that, so he went back to listening to Miss Jenkins.

* * *

Soon, the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day.

Before Ludwig could make it out the door, Feliciano grabbed his arm. "See you tomorrow, Kiku!" he called, dragging the German forward.

It was quickly made clear that Ludwig would be riding home in Antonio's car again.

Once again, Antonio was sat on the bonnet of his car, playing Angry Birds. He looked up and smiled when the two approached the car. "Hey there, you pair." he jumped down, tucking his phone into his pocket. "Ready to go?"

Feliciano jumped into the backseat, pulling the passenger seat back for Ludwig, who climbed in as awkwardly as ever.

"Sit up, Feli." said Antonio, not even having to look back.

With a quiet grumble, Feliciano sat up, putting his seatbelt on.

They drove to Ludwig's house in near silence, Feliciano drumming his fingers against the window. When they pulled up, Feliciano dove forward, wrapping his arms around Ludwig's shoulders.

"Do you wanna go to the park later?" he asked.

"O-oh, uh, sure." Ludwig responded, a little shocked to have the Italian tightly wound around him again. Not that it was uncommon.

Feliciano smiled and pressed a kiss to Ludwig's cheek. "I'll call for you later." he said as Ludwig climbed out of the car, calling a thank you back to Antonio, who just smiled and waved.

As soon as Ludwig disappeared up the front steps of his house, Antonio drove off.

"Feliciano," Antonio's voice had a rare, serious tone to it. "Are you sure that going out today is a good idea? You don't want to overexert yourself."

Feliciano huffed. "I'll be fine."

"Lovi will hit the roof if—"

"I'll be _fine_!"

* * *

Hit the roof, was exactly what Lovino did.

"You can't be _serious_?!" yelled the elder Italian. "Feliciano, you shouldn't even be going to school!"

Feliciano huffed, folding his arms. "Fratello, I haven't been in hospital for almost two whole years now. I'm fine!" he snapped back.

"Bullshit!" Lovino slammed his hands down on the kitchen table. "Feliciano, you can't take risks like that!"

"All I'm doing is going to the park." Feliciano frowned, giving his brother his best puppy dog pout.

Lovino groaned, covering his face with his hands. Feliciano knew exactly how to get his own way. "Fine," he growled. "But if you start feeling the slightest bit tired, I want you to come strait home!"

Bright smile returning, Feliciano jumped to his feet, leaning over the table to wrap his arms around his brother's neck. "Grazie, Lovino!" he chimed. He turned around and shot off upstairs to change out of his uniform.

With another groan, Lovino collapsed into his chair.

Feliciano tumbled through his bedroom door, pulling his school jumper over his head. He smiled, opening the lid of his music box and humming along with it's gently melody as he changed out of his school uniform and into a pair of pinstripe skinny jeans and a light blue t-shirt with the words "_**Bad Spellers Untie!**_" emblazoned on the front in bold letters.

He fell back onto his bed as he tugged on his converse, lacing them up tightly. Once they were laced, he wiggled his feet before jumping up and leaving the room, closing the music box as he passed it.

He decided to leave through the back door, not really wanting to run into Antonio or Lovino and have the same '_be good, be careful, call me if you need me_' speech that he got whenever he left the house. He slipped through the gate, walking to the end of his street and rounding the corner onto Genesis Terrace.

It didn't take him long to reach Ludwig's house, jumping up the front steps and knocking the door.

The door was pulled open after a short while by a man in baggy jeans and a black tank top. He had unkempt silver hair and red eyes that made Feliciano take a step back.

"H-Hello." Feliciano smiled brightly. "Is Ludwig in?"

The man raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "Ja, I'll get him for you." he said, disappearing back into the house.

Meanwhile, Ludwig was up in his room, scrolling through Tumblr.

"Ludwig!" As usual, Gilbert threw the door open with more force than necessary. "Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?"

Ludwig turned, raising an eyebrow at his brother. "Girlfriend?"

"Ja," Gilbert folded his arms. "There's a really cute girl at the door asking for you."

With a confused look, Ludwig got up and left the room, making his way downstairs and to the front door. He almost laughed when he saw Feliciano standing there.

"Ciao, Ludwig!" greeted the happy-go-lucky Italian.

"Hello, Feli." Ludwig turned when he heard his brother come back downstairs. "Gilbert, this is my friend, Feliciano." he introduced. "_He _is in most of my classes at school."

Gilbert looked Feliciano up and down, smiling. "You look like a chick." he said, bluntly.

"D-do I?" asked Feliciano, looking down at himself.

"A very flat chick," Gilbert shrugged slightly. "But a chick, nonetheless." With that, he walked back into the living room.

Ludwig groaned. "Ignore him. He's an idiot." he hissed. He grabbed his jacket off the rack, slinging it round himself. "Let's go. You wanted to go to the park, right?"

* * *

As usual, the park was busy. Full of kids and couples. Ludwig and Feliciano were sat on a bench, just talking about randomness. Every now and then, Feliciano would take a picture of them or a cat or a particularly interesting tree.

"So, what actually happened in P.E. today?" asked Ludwig.

Feliciano huffed, leaning forward. "I asked Mr. Roberts if I could start doing P.E. again and he said I can't." he pouted. Which was adorable, by the way.

"Why can't you do P.E.?"

Feliciano looked down, hiding behind his fringe. "Do you mind if I don't tell you?" he asked, quietly. "It's not that I don't trust you or anything, I just—"

"It's fine," Ludwig interrupted. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

They fell into silence after that, but only for a short while.

"You know," Ludwig started. "If you really wanted to, we could run laps around the park. That would be kind of like P.E."

Feliciano's bright smile was back in place. "Okay!" he chimed, jumping to his feet.

Ludwig got to his feet to, leading Feliciano to what he judged to be a good starting point. "Ready?" he asked, getting a small nod from Feliciano. "Go!"

With that, they both took off. It didn't take Ludwig long to pass Feliciano. He glanced back over his shoulder, smiling when he saw how far in front he was. It was painfully clear that Feliciano hadn't done P.E. in a very long time.

Feliciano only made it half way around the park before he felt his chest start to tighten. But still, he pushed on. His head was starting to spin and he began coughing quietly, but he'd wanted to do this, so he was going to finish at least one lap!

He tried to speed up, the dizziness becoming more violent. He stopped in he tracks, dropping to his knees as he began coughing again.

Ludwig turned back, skidding to a halt and turning to head back when he saw his friend on the ground. "Feli, are you okay?" he called. He crouched down beside him, placing a hand on his back.

Feliciano shook his head, coughing more violently. He fished his phone out of his pocket, handing it to Ludwig. "C-Call An...Anto-tonio." he spluttered.

Unlocking Feliciano's phone with a flick of his thumb, Ludwig opened up his contacts. Antonio was the second name listed. Ludwig pressed the call button and help the phone to his ear.

Just as Antonio picked up, Feliciano passed out.

* * *

**End Note:** Horribly rushed, but it's late and I'm tired. I know I promised you'd find out what's wrong this chapter, but I obviously lied, didn't I. Next chapter, I promise, this time!  
The tune Feliciano's music box plays; go to welsh-hetalian on tumblr and go to post/41737247913


	4. Hospital

Ludwig sat in the waiting room of the hospital, hands clasped together as he waited for any news on Feliciano.

Antonio had been at the park in under a minute after they'd hung up the phone. He carried Feliciano to the car and drove strait to the hospital. Antonio and Lovino were taken into the room with Feliciano, but Ludwig was told to wait outside.

That was almost twenty minutes ago.

Or maybe three minutes ago. Time didn't seem to move at all in the small, white waiting room.

Ludwig sighed. He shouldn't have made Feliciano run laps. Admittedly, he didn't know the Italian was going to collapse, but he should have guessed that there was a medical reason for him not doing P.E. in school. He felt like such an idiot.

He was so deep in thought, that he didn't hear the door opening.

"You!" Lovino's low voice was what woke him up. "I knew you were bad news the moment I laid eyes on you!" he yelled. "What were you _thinking_?! Do you have any idea what could have happened?! My brother almost _died_, you stupid, fucking bastard!"

"Lovino!" Antonio grabbed hold of the elder Italian's arm, not taking his eyes off Ludwig's shocked face. "He didn't know." he concluded.

Lovino pulled out of his boyfriend's hold, cussing in Italian. Antonio rubbed his back and sent him to get a hot chocolate and calm down.

Sending one last vicious glare to Ludwig, Lovino turned and stropped off.

Antonio watched him until he was out of sight, sitting in the seat next to Ludwig's. "His heart and respiration rates are back to normal. He's still unconscious, but he's okay." he explained.

Ludwig nodded dumbly, going back to wringing his hands. "Antonio," his voice was little more than a murmur. "What happened today?"

With an elongated sigh, Antonio leaned back. "Feliciano refused to tell you, I take it." It wasn't unexpected. Feliciano hated thinking about his illness, much less talking about it. It made sense that he would keep it from his new friend.

"Feliciano has a rare lung disorder called Malus Pulmones. It's similar to asthma or bronchitis, in a way. His lungs are really weak. If they're overworked at all... Well, you saw what happened today..." Antonio trailed off.

Staring at the floor, Ludwig clenched his fists. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"Try looking at it from his point of view." Antonio glanced towards the door leading into the room Feliciano was in. "Imagine spending most of your life in and out of hospital because you have this crazy disease that no one has ever even heard of before. He's only been going to school these past two years, and the only real friend he has is Kiku. I suppose he just wanted a friend who didn't constantly stress over him."

While Ludwig could see Antonio's point, he was still upset that Feliciano didn't tell him. He was even more upset that the idiot had agreed to run laps, knowing what could have happened.

Silence fell over them, Ludwig not really knowing what to say and Antonio feeling as though there was no more to be said.

The Spaniard got to his feet when a nurse stepped out of Feliciano's room.

"Mr. Vargas?"

"He's gone to calm himself down. I'm his partner."

The nurse looked Antonio up and down with a raised eyebrow, as if she was trying to figure out what the Spaniard had actually meant by _partner—_as if it actually mattered—before smiling gently. "Feliciano is awake now, if you want to see him." she announced.

Antonio turned to Ludwig. "Go and talk to him, Ludwig." he said. "I'll go and get Lovi."

With a nod, Ludwig got to his feet and entered the room.

Feliciano was half lying-half sitting in the hospital bed, another nurse removing the IV drip from his arm. He winced as she placed a small plaster over the tiny puncture.

He looked up at the door when he heard someone enter, smiling at Ludwig. "No matter how many times this happens, I will never get used to it." he chuckled.

Ludwig just stared blankly, hands trembling slightly. "You could have died." he pointed out.

Feliciano's smile fell. He glanced to the side, hiding behind his fringe again. "Which one of them told you?" he asked.

"Antonio." replied the German. "Lovino pretty much hates me now. But why wouldn't he? I almost _killed his brother_!"

"You're overreacting!" snapped Feliciano.

"No, I'm n—"

"Yes, you _are_!" Ludwig didn't think he'd ever seen Feliciano look angry before. The Italian was glaring at him, fists gripping the white bedsheets tightly. "I know I did a stupid thing, okay? But how do you think I feel?" Tears began to pool in his eyes, slowly dripping off his eyelashes and sliding down his cheeks. "Most boys my age are out playing football or something. I do the tiniest bit of exercise and it almost kills me! I _hate _being like this. I can't do_anything_!"

That was when the door opened and Lovino and Antonio stepped into the room.

"I don't want that bastard in here." hissed Lovino.

Antonio sent his partner an annoyed look. "Lovi!" he chided.

"It's fine." Ludwig looked back at Feliciano, who was still glaring at him. "I was just leaving." He turned to leave, wanting to slam the door, but knowing better than to do such a thing in a hospital.

Lovino rushed to his brother's bedside, placing a hand on his back. He felt himself grow more angry when he noticed the tears running down his face. "Aww, bambino." he cooed, wrapping an arm around his little brother's shoulders. "What did he say to you?"

Biting his lip, Feliciano just shook his head. He sniffled, turning into Lovino and sobbing into his shoulder.

With a quiet sigh, Lovino wrapped his arms around the younger Italian properly and began to gently rub soothing circles on his brother's back.

* * *

When Ludwig got home, he planned to shut himself in his room and ignore the world.

Gilbert had other ideas.

"What's wrong with you? Fight with your girlfriend?" he asked, stopping his brother at the door.

Ludwig glared. "Feliciano is _not_ my girlfriend, Gilbert." he snapped. "I don't even think we're talking right now."

"So, yes then."

Ludwig didn't respond, he just pushed passed his brother, jogging up he stairs to his bedroom.

With a quiet groan, Gilbert followed after him. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked, shutting the door and collapsing into Ludwig's desk chair.

Ludwig gave a sigh. "Feliciano is sick." he replied.

"And?"

"Really sick. He's in hospital."

"Shit. Is he okay?"

"He's fine. He'll probably be able to go home later today."

"So what's the problem?"

With another sigh, Ludwig lay back on his bed. "He didn't tell me." he said. "He has this lung disorder that could kill him and he didn't tell me." He crossed his arms over his eyes, not wanting Gilbert to see the small tears beginning to form. "I asked him to run laps with me. He agreed, knowing that he could have died. H-He collapsed and..." he was starting to choke on his words. "I almost killed my best friend."

Neither of them said anything for a long while, Gilbert too busy processing this information and Ludwig still silently weeping.

Gilbert knew his brother was crying, even though he had tried to cover it up. He waited for him to calm down a little before he spoke.

"So, you're mad at him because he almost died?" he asked, arching a silver eyebrow.

"No." Ludwig pulled himself into a sitting position, wiping away a few stray tears with the back of his wrist. "I'm mad at him because he didn't tell me he was sick. I mad at him because he knew full well what could have happened, but he still wanted to run laps. I'm mad at him because he's an _idiot_!" he ranted, volume steadily increasing.

Gilbert frowned. "Ludwig," he said, calmly. "Do you know what it's like to constantly be told that you can't do something?"

Ludwig should have known Gilbert would take the Italian's side.

When Gilbert was younger, he was really sick too. He'd always had a weak immune system, so he picked up all sorts of nasty bugs, but one time, he caught about four different things all at once and the viruses started fighting each other, having a really bad effect on poor Gilbert. He had to be kept home from school for over two months. Ludwig wasn't even allowed to see him for that time. All Gilbert was told he could do, was lay in bed and take his medicine.

However, Gilbert isn't the kind to sit about and do nothing for so long. He was always getting up and going off to do things. If he had just stayed in bed like he was told, he would have gotten better a lot sooner, but he hated it, being stuck in bed all day, not even having Ludwig to play with.

"It's an awful feeling, Ludwig. I bet that kid hates it more than I did."

Ludwig scoffed. "You were eight. Feliciano is sixteen."

"All the more reason." Gilbert countered. "Rebellious teenager, and such."

With a quiet huff, Ludwig glanced to the side.

"The kid made a mistake. You can't stay mad at him for something so silly."

"Silly?" Ludwig looked back at his brother as if he was insane. "He could have di—"

"But he _didn't_." Gilbert got fed up of arguing and got to his feet. "You should be glad of that, at least." he grumbled, leaving the room.

* * *

Feliciano wasn't in school the next day.

Ludwig deduced that either he was still in hospital or Lovino had pulled him out of school.

He could understand people being curious, but why did everyone have to ask _him _where the Italian was? Everyone in his class and even The Cupid Club had asked him, and he had replied with "How should I know? I'm not his keeper."

It didn't take Kiku long to figure out what was wrong.

They were in chemistry—third lesson—before he said anything.

"Is he out of hospital yet?" he asked, not looking up from his workbook.

Ludwig sighed. "I'm not sure. He seemed fine when I saw him, though."

"You argued."

"Ja..."

"Why?"

Hardly believing that he was about to have this conversation again, Ludwig groaned. "He should have told me." he grumbled.

Kiku put his pen down. "Do you want to know how long it took Feliciano to tell me about his illness?" he asked. "When he first stared school, I was assigned to help show him around and get him used to school life—he had been home schooled up until that point. We became friends after about a week. He kept telling me that he sat out of P.E. because he hated running. I found it hard to believe that the school would let him sit out because of that, but I didn't push it. I didn't find out until the next year, when we started having Ms Samuel for maths. She didn't like him going to the nurse for his medication halfway though her lessons, so she never let him. Needless to say, Lovino got really upset and filed a law suit against the school. That's the only reason she'll let him go now."

"That's different."

"Not really."

"Yes, it is." Ludwig sighed. "If he had ended up getting hurt back then it would have been Ms Samuel's fault. Yesterday, it was _my _fault."

Kiku gave a small smile. "But he is alright, isn't he?" he asked.

"That's not the point!" With a quiet grumble, Ludwig put is head in his hands. "He _could _have been really badly hurt."

They were both quiet for a few moments, Ludwig assuming that Kiku had gone back to his work.

"Why do you care?" asked the Asian.

Ludwig looked up with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean 'why do I care'? Feliciano is my best friend, why wouldn't I care?"

"You've only known him for a few days and he's already your best friend?"

"Well..." Ludwig fidgeted, not wanting to tell Kiku that he'd never really had friends before. "Yeah. He is."

Kiku smiled again. "I see..."

Before anything more could be said, the bell for lunch rang and everyone in the class simultaneously stood and packed their belongings into their bags.

As soon as Ludwig and Kiku were out the door, the shorter of the two stopped.

"You continue up to the hall, there's something I need to take care of." he said, turning and walking in the opposite direction.

Ludwig nodded, walking up to the hall by himself.

* * *

Kiku knocked on the door of the supposedly empty classroom, where two girls always ate their lunch and plotted together.

"Come in."

Opening the door, Kiku greeted the Cupid Club with a smile. "I think I may have a new project for you."

* * *

When Ludwig got home, he didn't really feel like doing anything. He just wanted to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. However, it's not really possible for people to think of absolutely nothing, so his mind started to wander.

'I wonder how Feliciano is. I hope he's okay. What if something really bad happened. He could be really hurt and I'd never know. What if he...'

At his own thoughts, Ludwig felt tears begin to form in his eyes. His mind kept coming up with all sorts of horrible things that could have happened.

What if he missed his medication today?

What if he had to go back into hospital?

What if? What if? What if?

With an annoyed groan, Ludwig put one arm over his eyes. 'No! Stop it! Feliciano is fine!' he scolded himself.

He sighed, glancing to the side. His phone lay on the bedside table. "Should I call?" he questioned himself. "Just to see if he's okay?" He sat up, reaching over to pick up his phone. He opened his contacts and scrolled through them to find Feliciano's number, smiling at the silly nickname the Italian had typed in when he entered his number.

Feli-Fairy.

He sat and stared at the contact for a while before letting out another sigh. There was no way in hell that he could call him. He knew that.

He settled for texting him instead.

'_Are you alright?_'

After the text had sent, Ludwig stared unblinkingly at his phone for what felt like an hour—but in reality, was probably only five minutes. Then it buzzed.

'_Fine, why?_'

'_You weren't in school. I was worried about you._'

'_Well, no need. I'll be in tomorrow._'

Ludwig frowned. He was glad Feliciano was alright, but it seemed like he was still mad at him.

'_Can I come round?_'

'_Well, I don't mind. Lovi might._'

'_As long as it's okay with you, I don't particularly care what Lovino thinks. I'll be there in a minute._'

* * *

**End Note:** So, now you know.  
I know that a few of you may think that Lovi's a little OOC in the hospital scene (when he's hugging Feli), but I'd like you to consider the circumstances. Feliciano is the only family he has left and he nearly died. I think he'd be a little affectionate at that moment.  
Also, just to let you guy know, updates are probably going to be further between now since I just got a new job and I work crazy long hours. So, if you can please bear with me on the disappointing updates and don't loose all hope on me, I'd be very grateful!  
Malus Pulmones. Literally; Bad Lungs... Yeah, I made that up, but I gave it a fancy Latin name, so I can be forgiven, right? And if not; POLAND RULE! You all forgive me, trololololo~! *rolls away*


	5. Arguments

Luckily for Ludwig, Antonio was the only one stood behind the counter when he arrived at _The Red Café._

The Spaniard nodded to him and lifted the hatch without a word.

Ludwig nodded back and made his way up to Feliciano's room. He stood in front of the door for what seemed like a century before slowly raising his hand to knock on the wood.

"Come in." Feliciano's voice didn't sound as cheerful as usual.

Ludwig pushed the door open, stepping inside. "Hello." he greeted.

Feliciano was sat up in bed with his duvet pulled over his legs and a baby blue fleece blanket around his shoulders. He had his laptop resting on his knees with his music box open beside him, humming along to the sweet tune. He slowly closed the lid of his laptop, pushing it onto his bedside table.

"Hi." Feliciano didn't look up, he just kept staring at his bed.

With a quiet sigh, Ludwig sat on the edge of Feli's bed. He'd never felt this awkward in his life. "We need to talk."

"Do we?"

"Feliciano—"

"Okay." The Italian kicked the covers off his knees, pushing himself out of his bed. "But let's go out. I don't want to talk here."

* * *

Instead of going somewhere specific, the two ended up just wandering around town, aimlessly.

Feliciano seemed a little bit happier, and Ludwig couldn't help but think that maybe he was trying to avoid the topic.

"It's a good thing Lovi is so busy at the moment." he chimed, nibbling on a brioche roll. "He's being really overprotective today. He treats me like glass. That's why I wasn't in school."

Ludwig gave a low hum. "Well, after what happened yesterday..."

Feliciano looked down at his feet, taking another bite from his brioche.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them as they walked, Feliciano staring at his feet the whole time. Ludwig wasn't sure when, but at some point, the Italian had started singing to himself quietly.

"You have a good voice."

Feliciano looked up through his fringe. "Not really." he replied with the slightest shrug of his shoulders. He glanced away momentarily before turning back, smiling. "Let's go to Starbucks!" he chirped, grabbing hold of Ludwig's arm and pulling him toward the coffee shop.

The interior of the place was nice. Warm with a strong smell of coffee and a very friendly and comfortable atmosphere. Ludwig decided that, sans the infestation of hipsters, it was a pleasant place.

He followed after Feliciano, who literally skipped up to the counter and ordered a caramel cream frappuccino with extra cream. Ludwig gave a quiet chuckle and ordered his own drink, playing it safe with a coffee. What the hell was a frappuccino, anyway?

As soon as he got his coffee, he turned to see Feliciano waiting for him at a table in the corner, his drink in front of him and covered in... was that _cinnamon? _Ludwig rolled his eyes, joining the Italian at his chosen table. That kid had a serious sweet tooth.

"They spelt my name wrong." giggled Feliciano, turning his cup to show Ludwig the messily written "Felly" on the side.

For a while they just sat there, making idle conversation and sipping their drinks. Before...

"Feliciano," Ludwig's voice had a flat, serious tone. "We really need to talk about what happened yesterday."

Feliciano sighed. "I know." He wrapped his lips around his straw, chewing on the top. "I don't know where to start."

A few moments of awkward silence drifted between them, they didn't even look at each other.

"You could have died."

"But, I di—"

"Let me finish, Feliciano!"

The Italian's gaze dropped to the table and he began chewing his straw again.

Ludwig sighed. "You could have died, but you still wanted to run laps... I just... don't understand why you would knowingly put yourself in danger." he said, bringing his mug to his lips.

Nothing was said between them for a long time. Feliciano kept his head down, still chewing on the straw in his mouth.

A small sniffle was heard from the Italian. Then another. And another. It soon became painfully obvious that Feliciano had started crying.

"W-What's wrong?" asked Ludwig, leaning over to place a hand on the weeping teenager's shoulder.

Feliciano jerked away from his touch, looking up. "D-Do you have any... any idea what it's like?" he asked. "I _hate _myself, you know that? I really, genuinely hate myself for the way I am! I can't even do one damn lap around the park without ending up in hospital!" His sobs grew a little louder, attracting the attention of a few people in the coffee house. "I'm tired of being that pathetic little sick kid who's probably going to die before he reaches twenty-five!"

"_Feliciano!_"

"What? I probably am!" Scrubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms, Feliciano got to his feet. "I'm going home." he announced, lowly. Then he walked off, leaving half his drink and his chewed straw behind.

Ludwig sighed, downing the rest of his coffee and leaving too, heading towards his own home.

A few tables back from where the two had been sitting, The Cupid Club were sipping their own drinks. They had been watching the entire scene unfold with frowns on their faces.

"We're going to need the Queen's help for this one." Morgan sighed.

* * *

The next day, Feliciano was absent again.

Ludwig had sent him a text to ask where he was, but had gotten no reply. However, when Kiku tried, he got an instant response.

'_Don't worry, I'm fine. Just didn't feel like coming in today, but I'll see you on Monday, okay? X_'

The days when Feliciano was absent seemed to drag out. It was unbelievably boring not having his antics at lunch, or hearing his voice chattering on all the way through class.

Still, Ludwig managed to make it through the day.

As soon as he got home, he decided that he was going to try and call Feliciano. He hated having the Italian mad at him, especially when he was just worried.

He was so busy flicking through contacts on is phone that he didn't notice his brother headed the other way.

"Careful!" Gilbert scolded, narrowly avoiding a collision.

"O-Oh!" Ludwig looked up. "Sorry, Gilbert." He took a step back, raising his eyebrow when he noticed the way his brother was dressed. Jeans, a red, pinstripe button-down and black and white high-tops. Casual, but nice. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Gilbert chuckled. "To meet someone." he replied, simply, slipping passed his brother and out the door before any more questions could be asked.

Ludwig just rolled his eyes and continued on his way.

Almost as soon as he got to his room, he tried calling Feliciano.

The phone rang twice before getting cut off.

He tried again, the same thing happened.

With a frustrated groan, Ludwig tossed his phone onto his bedside table.

Feliciano was definitely mad at him.

* * *

Still dressed in their school uniforms, The Cupid Club ran up the front steps of their mentor's new home, knocking the door.

A few moments later, the door was pulled open by someone who was most certainly _not _the Queen of The Cupid Club. For a start, it was a man. He was tall, with chestnut-brown hair and a certain _feel _to him that made Kassia want to duck behind Morgan and stay there.

Morgan, on the other hand, continued to smile confidently. "Is Elizabeta in?" she asked.

Inside the house, Elizabeta had jumped to her feet at the mention of her name. She poked her head out the door, smiling brightly at her disciples. "Hello, girls." she greeted. "It's so good to see you!"

Morgan and Kassia were ushered inside by their Queen, who talked excitedly about how much she'd missed them and how they'd changed since she saw them last (which was only about a month ago).

"Eliza," Kassia looked up to her mentor through her fringe. "We need your help."

Elizabeta frowned, tilting her head. "With?"

"A project." Morgan opened her bag, pulling out a few photographs. "Kiku came to us with these," She handed the photographs to the Queen. "He wants us to set them up."

A smile grew on Elizabeta's face as she flicked through the photos. "A perfect eye, as always." she stated. She handed the photos back, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you need my help?"

"Well," Kassia and Morgan looked at each other, speaking in unison. "They're kind of... not talking."

"And you've let that discourage you?" Elizabeta gave an unbelieving look. Her girls were usually more determined and more focused than this.

Kassia gave a quiet sigh. "I don't think you understand." she said, turning her gaze to Morgan.

"It's Feliciano who's refusing to talk to Ludwig." Morgan clarified.

Elizabeta frowned. She'd known Feliciano since before he started school, having been close to the family, and she'd never known him to stop talking to anyone. He was always open and friendly. "Yes, I can see why that would be a problem." she hummed.

The Cupid Club sat in silence, waiting for their Queen to come up with a brilliant plan.

"Ah!" chimed the Hungarian, all of a sudden. "Try this..."

* * *

Ludwig tried reaching Feliciano again a number of times that night, but to no avail. The call would either get cut off or go strait to voice mail.

He decided he'd try once more before going to bed.

It rang once.

Twice. Then,

"_Ciao, it's Feli. I can't come to the phone right now so ple—_"

Ludwig groaned, hanging up the phone.

This was getting so annoying. What did he even do?

Yes, he made Feliciano cry, but how? By _worrying _about his friend?

He sighed, laying back on his bed and pulling the eiderdown over him.

Hearing the door slam open, Ludwig deduced that Gilbert was home. And hearing the giggles that were a little too high-pitched to be his brother, he also deduced that he'd brought someone back

Two sets of footsteps made it up the stairs, tumbling into Gilbert's bedroom.

"I don't normally let someone take me home after one date." came a quiet voice that Ludwig was sure he'd heard somewhere before. Quite recently.

"I'm so glad you made an exception."

Ludwig grumbled, putting his headphones in. He did _not_ want to hear any more.

As his music began to play, quietly, but loud enough to drown out what was going on one room over, Ludwig found himself thinking of the day's events.

Was Feliciano seriously mad at him because he was worried?

Then he remembered what Feliciano had said about Lovino.

"_He's being really overprotective today. He treats me like glass._"

Then, his words in the coffee shop.

"_I'm tired of being that pathetic little sick kid who's probably going to die before he reaches twenty-five!_"

Ludwig frowned, picking his phone back up off is bedside table.

'_I'm sorry xx_'

* * *

End Note: I'm assuming at this point you guys don't know whether to kiss me or brutal bludgeon me to death...  
There's something I want you guys to do from here on out. When I read or write, I always have music playing, and I know a lot of other people who do, too. So, when you guys leave a review, I'd like you to tell me what song(s) you were listening to as you read. In exchange, I'll tell you what I listened to as I wrote, that way, we'll all get some awesome new music to listen to.  
While writing this I listened to 37.0 C by Yaida Hitomi and When Angels Fly Away by Cold.  
Anyone who knows who Gil's date was is perfect~ Except you, Suzy. You already know. Also, I never intended The Cupid Club to play such a big part in this. It just... happened...  
_Notice how Ludwig put kisses on the end of that text?!_


	6. Side Project

For what seemed like the first time in his life, Feliciano woke up without Lovino calling him. He pushed himself up onto all fours and stretched, before letting himself fall back onto his front.

Almost instinctively, he reached under is pillow to retrieve his phone, panicking slightly when he didn't feel it there. He sat up, pulling the pillow out of the way. That's when he remembered.

He grumbled, putting his pillow back into place and burying his face in it. Lovino had taken his phone off him for sneaking out. Hopefully, he'd have it back today. The problem remained, how was he supposed to check the time without his phone?

Oh, yeah. The alarm clock by his bedside.

Feliciano rolled onto his side, glancing up at the underused alarm clock. 9:30.

He pulled his eiderdown back over himself and close his eyes. There was still time for more sleep.

An hour later he was awoken by his brother yelling up the stairs.

Feliciano grumbled, pushing himself into a seated position with his eiderdown pulled over his shoulders.

With a yawn, he tumbled out of bed, rubbing his eyes and inwardly cursing himself for going back to sleep. Now he was even more tired.

By the time he'd got down to the kitchen there was a bowl of Budino di Riso waiting for him on the table. He could hear Antonio and Lovino talking in the café, getting ready to open.

Saturday was predictably their busiest day of the week, especially when the weather was nice. Antonio and Lovino always seemed to be rushed off their feet. Feliciano still wasn't allowed to help, though. Which he thought was silly for a number of reasons.

Mainly; what harm could come to him walking back and forth to the kitchen? And even if anything were to happen, his medicine is in the fridge.

Still, even on days when they were complaining that they needed more hands, Lovino would not let Feliciano help. Not even with the dishes.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Feliciano looked up, finding Lovino stood in front of him with his hands on his hips. "Oh, sorry Lovi, I spaced out."

Lovino rolled his eyes. "I asked if you'd taken your medicine." he repeated, folding his arms.

Hiding behind his fringe, Feliciano continued eating his breakfast. He gave a slight shake of his head. "Not yet."

"Well," Lovino gave a sigh. "Eat your breakfast, then take your medicine and go strait back to bed, you know how drowsy that stuff makes you."

Feliciano bit his bottom lip, not looking up. "Actually, I was wondering if I could—"

"Don't start, Feliciano!" Lovino turned, walking away. He paused at the door, reaching into his pocket. "Here," he said, tossing Feliciano's phone onto the table. "You have about seven thousand missed calls."

Eyes wide, Feliciano grabbed his phone, opening his missed calls list. Lovino was exaggerating, of course. He only had seventeen missed calls, but still. There were a few from Kiku, but most were from Ludwig.

Feliciano frowned, putting his phone back down on the table and returning to his breakfast.

He had no idea how to feel. Was he still mad at Ludwig? Was he even mad to begin with?

He gave a sigh. No. He wasn't mad. Not at Ludwig, anyway. He was just frustrated, and he took it out on the German.

Finishing his breakfast, Feliciano carried the empty bowl over to the sink before opening the fridge. He frowned as he pulled out his medicine, quickly pouring himself a glass of juice before uncapping the bottle jar. He'd need something to take the taste away.

With another sigh, he filled the cap with the green liquid before downing it with a grimace. He shook his head, as if that would get the taste of the vile stuff out of him mouth. Recapping the medicine jar, he placed it back in the fridge, grabbing the glass of juice and quickly downing that too.

He poured himself another glass of juice to take upstairs with him before closing the fridge, grabbing his phone and going back to his room.

As soon as he was comfortably settled on his bed, he unlocked his phone again and opened his texts.

He bit his lip as he read the text Ludwig had sent him the night before.

Ludwig probably thought that he was mad at him or that he hated him.

Feliciano quickly typed a reply before tucking himself back under the covers and going back to sleep for a while.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ludwig was waking up to the smell of something cooking downstairs. He sat up and stretched, gabbing his phone off the side table to check the time.

9:30. It was too early for Gilbert to be up. It must be his date cooking.

Deciding that breakfast was breakfast, no matter who cooked it, Ludwig got out of bed and made his way down to the kitchen.

At the stove stood a boy with dishevelled dirty blond hair. He was wearing a pair of red boxers and an old, faded band tee of Gilbert's.

The boy turned, freezing in place when he saw Ludwig. "O-Oh, good morning." he said, smiling shyly. He pushed his glasses up, motioning back to the stove with his eyes. "Want some pancakes?"

Ludwig just stared at the boy for a moment. He knew he'd seen him around before, but where? Then it hit him. "Matthew?" he raised an eyebrow. Yes, this was definitely the quiet boy from his maths class. The one who'd warned him about Ms Samuel.

The blush on Matthew's already red face darkened. "Y-Yeah." He gave a small smile. "The one time I don't want to be recognised..." he grumbled under his breath.

As if the situation wasn't awkward enough, Gilbert chose that moment to descend the stairs. "Morning." he greeted, walking past Ludwig and putting an arm around Matthew.

Ludwig shook his head, moving to sit at the table. "How did you guys even meet?"

"Kassia and Morgan called. They said I had to meet them in the park instantly." started Matthew, turning the stove off and placing three plates on the table. "When I got there, they were talking to Gilbert."

"They said they had to go, so Mattie and I just hung out together." Gilbert finished, smiling.

Ludwig sighed. "Morgan and Kassia?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"No, Matthew. Thank about it." Ludwig narrowed his eyes. "_Morgan_. And _Kassia_."

Matthew gave a confused look. "I don't—" Then it hit him. "_Oh..._"

Gilbert blinked. "What am I missing?" he asked.

Matthew blushed darkly, hiding behind his fringe.

"Those two are kind of infamous for setting people up." Ludwig answered.

"Oh, right." Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Is that how you got with your girlfriend?"

Ludwig sighed. "For the last time, Gilbert. Feliciano is not my—"

That's when Ludwig's phone buzzed. He unlocked it, smiling when he read the message from Feliciano.

'D_on't be :3 xxxxxxx_'

* * *

"So, ladies." Elizabeta placed her teacup down, smiling sweetly. "Have you started putting our plan into place?"

Morgan and Kassia nodded in sync, returning their mentor's smile.

"Our apologies." chipped in Kiku. "It would have been done sooner, but the girls got distracted by a side project."

Elizabeta smirked. "Side project?" she cooed, leaning forward slightly. "Do tell."

The girls smiled at each other before turning to their Queen. "We met this guy in the park, and we could tell from first glance that he was perfect for Matthew." explained Kassia.

"We called Matthew to meet us. For a while we just sat with them and, when they were well-enough acquainted, we told them we had stuff to do." added Morgan. "Which wasn't a lie."

With her hands covering her face, Elizabeta began lightly sobbing.

"Y-Your Highness, are you okay?" yelled the girls in sync, jumping out of their seats and to their Queen's side, only to be bundled into a tight hug.

"My little Princesses!" sobbed Elizabeta, kissing each of their cheeks. "I'm so proud of you! Making your own matches on such short notice!"

Kiku gave a quiet sigh. "Good grief." he mumbled, under his breath.

* * *

"Alfred, you dropped your mobile again." stated Arthur, picking up his boyfriend's phone, examining the dents and scrapes on the poor, battered thing.

Alfred glanced back, sighing. "Yeah, thanks." he said, taking his phone and tucking it back into his pocket.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Honestly, that's the forth time today! If you keep dropping it, you're going to break it."

"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do." replied the American.

Arthur stopped walking, raising an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked.

With a chuckle, Alfred turned to face him. "So I can get a new one, obviously."

"Alfred, your mother isn't going to get you a new phone of you break this one."

"That's what she said last time." Alfred smirked. "My mom's a pushover, Artie. She'll get me anything I ask for. All I have to do is;" Alfred widened his eyes, peeking at Arthur over the top of his glasses. He stuck out his bottom lip and tucked his arms behind his back, idly kicking at the floor with one foot. It was all sorts of adorable, really.

Arthur felt his cheeks redden. Clearing his throat, he gazed away. "Aren't you a little too old for the 'puppy eyes' technique?" he asked.

Alfred gave another obnoxiously loud laugh. "If it still works, I'm not too old." he announced, slinging an arm around the Brit. "It even works on you~" he sang.

"I-It does not!" spluttered Arthur, fighting his way out of Alfred's half-hug.

Shaking his head, Alfred brought his other arm around Arthur, trapping him in his arms. "Why so cute?" he chuckled, pressing a kiss to the tip of the Brit's nose.

Arthur sulked. "I'm _not _cute." he argued. His pout slowly morphed into a sweet smile. "You, on the other hand," he started, lifting himself up onto his toes and winding his arms around Alfred's neck. "Can be very cute. When you want to be." He gently pressed his lips against Alfred's, stepping slightly closer.

Alfred kissed back, tightening his hug. He smiled as the pulled away, resting his forehead against Arthur's. "Aww, that was sweet." he commented. "But, are you on your tiptoes?"

Arthur glanced away. "So what if I am?" he grumbled.

"Aww, that's adorable!" Alfred pressed his nose against Arthur's. "You're so short!"

"Oh, shut it, lard arse!" Arthur broke out of Alfred's hold, marching forward with Alfred following behind, laughing loudly.

* * *

**End Note:** Random USUK filler at the end, because why not? I've never written actual USUK, just implied. Which sucks, because I really do ship them to death! Also, the whole 'Alfred trying to break his phone' thing, is literally my cousin. She is Fem!America, I swear! She doesn't even watch Hetalia, but she is so much like America.  
Also, there's a poll up on my page about the rating possibly going up, please go and vote if you haven't already, k bros?  
I listened to September and Dear You, both by Kaito Shion, Melt 2M Mix by IA and Wish You Were Here by Kate Voegele while writing.  
~Lolly xXx


	7. The Cupid Club's Extra Members

By the time Feliciano was up and out of bed for the second time that day, the café was practically full. He could hear the happy chattering of customers downstairs.

He sat up and stretched, before tumbling out of bed. He briefly considered getting dressed, but even though he had his phone back, he was technically still grounded, so never mind.

He grabbed his laptop off his bedside table and draped his favourite baby blue fleece blanket over his shoulders before making his way downstairs.

He stopped on the bottom step, hearing his brother yelling at someone. He peeked through the ajar door, watching as Lovino whizzed around the kitchen, doing a thousand things as once with the phone balanced on his shoulder.

"No way!" he yelled. "This won't be good for anyone! Do you have any idea how damn stressful that kid is?!"

Feliciano frowned. Lovino wasn't talking about him, was he? Sure, he could be a handful at times, but he wasn't that bad, was he? He sat down on the stair, resting his head against the wall. Was Lovino seriously having that much trouble with him?

He put his laptop on the stair next to him and pulled his knees up to his chest. Maybe he was stressful. But he wasn't as bad as he used to be. At least now he actually took his medicine like he was supposed to.

He heard Lovino sigh. "You know what? Fine! But if he pisses me off this week I'm sending him strait back to you!"

Feliciano raised an eyebrow. Was Lovino talking to their grandfather? Which could only mean that he wanted Feliciano to move back to Italy.

He bit his lip. While he loved his home country with all his heart, he had made far too many friends here to go back now.

"What the angling fuck are you doing?"

Feliciano looked up, finding a confused Lovino stood in front of him.

"M-My head started spinning so I sat down." he lied.

Lovino frowned, pressing the back of his hand against his brother's forehead. "Are you feeling aright? No headache or anything?"

With a smile, Feliciano stood up, pulling his fleece further around his shoulders and collecting his laptop. "I'm fine, Lovi. It was just a head rush, honest."

"If you say so." Lovino went back to what he was doing. "Go and sit down, okay?"

Feliciano smiled and saluted, turning and making his way into the living room. He left his laptop on the coffee table as he set about grabbing every cushion in the room and piling them into the chair in the corner. He then picked his laptop back up and settled himself into his nest, pulling the blanket tightly around himself.

* * *

The sounds of high-pitched giggled and shoes hitting the concrete almost echoed down the street as the group of girls ran, all yelling excitably to one another.

"Lili's going to lose!"

"This isn't a race, Wendy!"

"You're only saying that because you're so far behind us, Michelle!"

"Girls, please wait!" A high-pitched squeak left the mouth of the smallest girl as she tripped and fell forward.

The eldest of the group, a girl with short, blonde hair that bounced around her shoulders turned, grabbing hold of the other girl's arm and pulling her back upright, smiling. "Careful, Lili."

Lili smiled, closing her big, green eyes. "Thank you, Ema."

The group carried on running as fast as they could until they reached the door of their favourite café. They tumbled inside and moved to occupy their usual table, greeting the rest of the customers as they did.

"Hola, ladies." greeted Antonio, smiling at them as they dashed passed him. He followed them to their table, flicking open his notebook. "Let me guess," he hummed, looking at each of the girls individually as he spoke. "Ema wants waffles with a hot chocolate, Michelle wants brioche and milky tea, Mei wants mango flavoured bubble tea, Wendy wants chocolate ice cream and Lili wants strawberry shortcake with a strawberry milkshake."

The girls giggled.

"You know us so well." said Ema, leaning forward with a cute smile, batting her eyes.

Antonio smiled back, then turned and made his way to the kitchen to give Lovino the order.

"Ema!" whined Mei.

Ema raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Stop flirting with Toni." chided Wendy.

"W-What?" Ema's cheeks flared. "How was I flirting?!" she squeaked.

Even Lili rolled her eyes. "Ema, you were fluttering your eyelashes."

"Not to mention that sickly sweet voice." Wendy gave a dramatic sigh, leaning forward and mimicking Ema. "You know us sooooo well~"

The whole group burst into loud laughter, sans poor Ema, who was bright red at this point.

Michelle gave a quiet chuckle. "Dream on, dear." she said. "Not only is he taken, but he's about as strait as a circle."

Burying her face in her folded arms, Ema grumbled quietly. "I hate you all."

A few more minutes of giggling and teasing Ema passed before Michelle spotted Antonio make his way over with a tray. "Let's not forget why we're here, girls." she said.

"Okay, ladies." Antonio lay the tray on the end of the table, placing each girl's order in front of them. He paused when he got to the Belgian. "Ema? Your face is bright red, are you aright?" he asked

Ema nodded. "Yeah, fine."

"Toni," Mei interrupted. "Is Feli in today?"

"Of course he is." Antonio smiled. "You girls wanna see him?"

"Please?"

Antonio nodded and once again walked away, disappearing through the kitchen.

When he came back, Feliciano followed him.

"Hi, girls!" Feliciano smiled brightly and joined them at their table, Ema pushing Wendy along and moving over to give him a space to sit.

Michelle giggled when she got a good look at him. "Are you _still _in your pyjamas?" she asked.

Feliciano nodded. "Well, I'm not going anywhere, so why bother?"

The group fell into conversation, discussing various pointless topics before Michelle once again remembered why they were there.

"Anyway," she said, slamming her hand down on the table, almost tipping over her tea. "Tomorrow." She looked at Feliciano. "A load of us are going to cinema. Are you coming?"

Feliciano gave a small shrug. "I don't know if I can." he replied.

"I'll pay for you, hun." offered Ema with a smile.

"Thanks, but that's not what I meant." Feliciano bit his lip. "I'm supposed to be grounded."

"What for?" asked Wendy, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I went out for ten minutes without letting anyone know."

The sound of Antonio clearing his throat behind him made Feliciano jump. "You were gone for over an hour and your brother and I were worried sick." he said, folding his arms.

Feliciano slumped in his seat slightly. "Sorry, Toni." he muttered.

* * *

Soon after their awkward breakfast, Matthew had announced that he should probably be heading home, since his brother was already going to kill him for staying out all night without calling.

Gilbert saw him to the door where they exchanged numbers and a few more kisses before finally parting.

When Gilbert finally closed the door and wandered back into the kitchen, Ludwig was staring at him over the rim of his mug.

"What?" asked Gilbert, glaring back as he collapsed backwards onto a chair.

"Matthew is in my class at school, Gilbert." Ludwig pointed out.

Gilbert huffed. "Yeah, so?"

"So, don't you think he's a little young for you?"

"I did at first." Gilbert leaned forward, resting his folded arms against the table. "But he's amazing, Ludwig!"

Ludwig frowned. "He's seventeen."

"So we're not doing anything illegal."

"That's not the point!" Ludwig shook his head with a sigh. "You're still six years older than him."

"The age gap isn't an issue for me, nor him, so why is it for you?" asked Gilbert.

Ludwig shrugged. "Maybe I'm thinking about how his family will react when they find out he's dating a twenty three year old." he said, taking his now empty mug over to the sink. With that, he left the room, leaving Gilbert to sulk.

He went back to his room, turning on his computer and starting up his browser. He finally got the page to load when his phone buzzed.

_'Hello, Ludwig. A few of my friends are going __out tomorrow __and we thought you might like to join us. -Kiku.'_

Ludwig thought about it for a while. This would be a good way to meet new people, he supposed. He'd been living here for just over a week now and he still hardly knew anyone, save for Feliciano and Kiku. He smiled and replied.

'_Okay, I'll come. -Ludwig.'_

Almost as soon as the text had sent, he'd received another.

_'I'll tell the others. See you then. -Kiku.'_

* * *

Elizabeta's living room was almost full.

Today's Cupid Club meeting involved, not only the two "Princesses" but every member Elizabeta had appointed. Including Kiku, who was beginning to think that he was the only male there. His spirits were lifted when he met the Austrian man, but were deflated once he was informed that he was Elizabeta's fiancé.

So far, all that was happening was random chatter among the members, which mainly included the Princesses telling the other members about their side project and Morgan having to jab Kassia in the ribs for changing the subject to Garry and Ib all the time.

"So," Elizabeta's voice cut over the chatting. "How's the plan going so far?" she asked.

Kiku cleared his throat. "Well, Ludwig has agreed to join me tomorrow." he said, pulling the text up on his phone and showing Elizabeta.

With a cat like grin, Elizabeta turned to the group. "And how did your side go?" she asked.

"Not too well, I'm afraid." said Lili, shaking her head. "Feliciano's grounded."

"That won't be a problem." said Morgan.

"He'll be allowed out by tomorrow." added Kassia.

Wendy gave a sceptical look. "How do you know?" she asked.

"Because we know Lovi." said the Princesses, in unison.

Elizabeta nodded. "They're right. Feliciano has never been grounded for longer than a day." she confirmed.

"So, we get them both to the cinema, then what?" asked Mei. "I know going to the cinema is like a cliché date, but people go to the cinema with their friends all the time."

Giving a little chuckle, Elizabeta shook her head. "Don't be so hasty, Mei, dear." she said. "At the moment, all we want to do is push their friendship a little bit closer. The big plans don't come until later."

With a sigh, she leant on her arm, staring out of the window. "Speaking of, has anyone come up with any good ideas for our big plan, yet?"

The group fell silent, all trying to think up something.

"Ooh!" Kassia suddenly sprung up. "We could try and create a situation like when Garry gives Ib hi— OW! Morgan!"

"Shut up about Garry and Ib, then!"

* * *

With a yawn, Feliciano crawled into bed, glancing over to his clock to see that it was just coming up to eleven.

He wouldn't usually be this tired at this time, but he had just been forced to take his medicine and that stuff made him extremely drowsy.

He reached under his pillow for his phone, composing a text message.

'_How be? xXx'_

He sent the message to Ludwig, fiddling with the buttons on his phone while he waited for a reply.

_'I'm ok, you? Xxx'_

_'Same. Just a bit tired xXx'_

'_Go to sleep then xx'_

_'Don't want to :( xXx'_

_'Why? xx'_

_'Just don't. Call me? xXx'_

He didn't get a text back. But a few minutes later, his phone rang.

He smiled, pressing the green button and holding the phone to his ear. "Hi." he said, quietly.

"Hey." Ludwig replied. "Sorry it took me so long to call you. My brother wouldn't leave me alone."

"S'okay..."

"You sound really tired, Feli."

"'Cause I am. Just took my medicine and it makes me like this."

"That's why you stay so long in the nurse's office, then."

"...yeah..."

"You sound like you're about to fall asleep."

"...no... m'fine..."

"Are you sure?"

"...si... just sleepy."

"Sleep, then."

When Ludwig didn't get a reply, he started to get a bit worried.. "...Feliciano? ...Feli, are you there?"

That's when he heard the heavy, even breaths of someone who was quite obviously already sleeping. He chuckled quietly. "Goodnight, Feliciano."

* * *

**End Note:** So. Much. Dialogue! And it's just a little filler, too...  
So hi... I'm not dead, by the way. Just inactive. I'm sorry. Hopefully next chapter won't take so long...  
In case you didn't quite get it Ema is Belgium, Michelle is Seychelles, Mei is Taiwan, Wendy is Wy and Lili is Liechtenstein. Also, I have a surprise for you guys next chapter~ Although some of you already know or have figured it out.  
Also, I haven't mentioned this before, but this is set in the UK. So what Gil said about not doing anything illegal is true. (If you didn't know, the age of consent over here is sixteen.)  
If you know who Garry and Ib are, you are utter perfection!  
I listened to Find The Blue by Len Kagamine, Masterpiece Theatre I by Marianas Trench and Blind Alley from the Ib soundtrack while writing.  
~Lolly xXx


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